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Two Marines killed in attack on Afghan base where Prince Harry is deployed

September 14, 2012 | 10:57
pm

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Two U.S. Marines were killed when
Taliban insurgents attacked the NATO base in southern Afghanistan where Prince
Harry, third in line to the British throne, is deployed, military officials
said Saturday. The prince was not in any danger during the strike, they said.

A well-armed squad of attackers hit the installation's
airfield with “indirect fire” and small-arms fire at
about 10 p.m. Friday, damaging some aircraft and buildings, said a spokesman
for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF. Initial reports
indicated that about 16 insurgents were killed.

The Western military said in a statement that two NATO
service members died, without disclosing their nationalities, but U.S. military
officials identified them as U.S. Marines.

The airfield that came under fire is adjacent to the United States' Camp Leatherneck and Britain's Camp Bastion in Helmand province.

Prince
Harry, known in the military as Capt. Harry Wales, arrived a week ago on a
four-month deployment to pilot Apache helicopters. The Taliban movement
immediately vowed to do its best to try to kill or capture him.

The British government made the somewhat controversial
decision to announce Prince Harry’s arrival in Afghanistan, after a previous
deployment was cut short when word of his presence was leaked by an Australian
media outfit. Previously, he was serving with a ground unit in the field that
was considered more vulnerable to attack; this time he is based at Bastion, a
large and well-fortified installation.

Photo: Britain's Prince Harry examines the cockpit of an Apache attack helicopter with
an unidentified member of his squadron, at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, on Sept. 7, 2012. Credit: John Stillwell / Associated Press